Real Friends (Always) Pay Full Price

The hardest lesson I learned building a $200K side business.

Image credits: Jano le Roux

I used to give “friend discounts” to everyone I knew.

Big mistake.

It nearly killed my business. And it definitely killed some friendships.

Here’s what I learned about friendship, business, and why the people who truly care about you will never ask you to work for less.

The friend discount trap

When I started my marketing consulting business, I thought being generous would build loyalty.

College friends got 20% off.

High school buddies got 30% off.

Family got the “cost price” — whatever that meant.

I felt good about myself. I was helping people I cared about while building my business.

Then I looked at my bank account.

I was busy. Really busy.

And completely broke.

The wake-up call

About 5 years ago accountant asked me a simple question:

“How much did you make per hour last month?”

I did the math.